#sonders

Son Ders - The Last Lesson

A Terminal Cancer Patient Who Is In The United States At Carnegie Mellon University Faculty Member Prof. Pausch Randy 'The Last Lesson

While things take a chaotic turn in 1936 Chicago, fall arrives in 1896 Paris with a flourish, the radiant colors and crisp blue skies a promise of gentler times ahead. It may not be enough, however, to cause the Sonders to forget there's a murderer on the loose among them. And while they may be safe from the Task Force in the past, an esoteric cabal of artists, intellectuals, and spiritualists has taken a keen interest in the influx of incongruous Americans in the City of Light.

"We stand at the threshold of a new century but we do not have to enter it blindly! The gift of knowledge awaits but first we must find and befriend those that have brought it here to us."

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Le Sablier Bistrot is not particularly remarkable amongst its brethren scattered around Montmartre. It’s clear to see from the street that it was once a home, and in some ways it still serves as one, at least symbolically, for the discontented artists that gather there regularly to discuss materials and methods and what their work should say and do in a world careening between extremes, obsessed with everything and nothing, hurtling towards the end of an age.

A small handwritten sign on the front door reads, in French: CLOSED – Private Party, Invited guests welcome. Stepping inside, you enter the first of two, low-ceilinged dining rooms with ochre colored walls. The second is through an open doorway to the right. A swinging door with flecking blue-green paint, midway down the left-hand wall, leads to the kitchen, and straight ahead, the matching back door stands wide open to the pleasant evening air, revealing a rear courtyard.

The tables and chairs in the main dining room have been pushed towards the walls, providing ample space for standing and mingling as well as helping oneself to the trestle tables laid with bite-sized morsels and uncorked bottles of wine. The smaller second dining room has been cleared and the walls hung with a fascinating array of paintings and drawings. Their bold colors, distorted and distressed figures, and peculiar iconography show that they have little in common with the work of the Romantics, Realists, and Impressionists on display at the Palais des Champs-Élysées.

The courtyard is made of rough stone and hemmed in by the neighboring buildings. There are more tables scattered, lit by low candles, and an arbor of grapevines. Beneath it, on a carpet of yellowing leaves, a violinist and cellist play, their meditative music occasionally accompanied by a soprano singer, the lyrics beautiful but not always sensical to those who understand French, as if the words had been occasionally chosen for their sound more than their meaning.

Like most events of great importance, there were many smaller events that lead up to the shooting at the start of the summer, some of which hadn’t seemed very important at all. For the Sonders, the story usually began with the first time they were ever transported back in time. A period of adjustment usually followed. Then there was a small notice in the newspapers and radio—a telephone number and simple instructions asking the public to anonymously report anyone who disappeared often and suspiciously for days or weeks at a time with poor explanation. While initially this seemed like some odd April Fool’s prank, the ad ran over and over and over again. Most didn’t know what it meant, but for the Sonders who come across it, they realize it for what it is – a manhunt.

Behind that little tip line is the Time Exploitation and Endangerment Task Force set upon recovering as much information as they possibly can about those who Sonder. Recruited onto that task force on top of his daily responsibilities is John Daley—a war veteran married to his own principles, though that becomes compromised when he meets one Marco Suarez, the younger of the Suarez brothers, while investigating his older brother Tristan. What begins as a profitable distraction soon turns into something much more meaningful and dangerous for them both.

But he doesn’t entirely neglect his duties—at least not with the Time Exploitation and Endangerment Task Force (or “TEETF” on all censored documents). He manages to follow up on some of the tips coming through, and one allegation amidst the many obviously false ones catches his eye, —those made against Patrick Nolan.While Patrick’s name is reported more than once, John Daley’s interest may lie in the fact that he’s known Pat since they were children (though they clearly went very separate ways).

But it’s no surprise that anyone has caught onto Patrick’s disappearances given how frequent and consistent they are, and always without warning. Until recently, even his new wife, Juniper Nolan nee Jacobs, lamented his desertions, though the couple now maintain that he’s merely been out of town for work.

He’s not the only one brought to the TEETF’s attention. There’s also Frank Albright and Barbara Bondurant, perhaps only noticed due to their usual habits. Frank is always hustling and gambling, trying to make up for the money his family fritters away but he, too, disappears for months at a time. This, of course, could have been attributed to the many debts he owed to rather unsavory folk—but there had been enough calls that he was worth looking into.

Barbara would never be able to disappear without someone’s notice, though. She was too punctual, too organized, and too steadfast to simply go as she pleased, even for just a few hours or a day at most. No, someone in the 11th District precinct would always notice her absences, and those someones would note them to the tip line in their own envious fit. Barbara, after all, was the only one who could work with Detective Nicholas Beck.

Nicholas Beck, who preferred to mind his own business, thank you very much, had begun to notice Barbara’s secretive behavior. Barbara struggles to keep her sondering abilities under wraps while the two investigate a string of cold case murders. But it’s easy to see there is some deeper connection growing between the two.

There is some consolation for Barbara, however. She’s not alone—in Paris she finds a naked and reasonably doubtful Aryan Carter, who believes himself to be in a hyper realistic dream. It takes some time, but Barbara convinces him the reality of the situation and gives him some advice on how to survive as a Sonder. And so, John Daley has had his work cut out for him, investigating the few credible leads he has. It was too bad that he hadn’t been more careful in his surveillance—too bad for Clyde Hudgens. In a case of mistaken identity, Juniper believes she sees her ex-fiance, Clyde, outside of the Nolan home. Both in warning, and perhaps retribution for years of sin, Patrick Nolan beats Clyde Hudgens within an inch of his life, sending the man straight into the arms of ER nurse and his estranged sister, Clara Morel (who had shown up to his wedding quite unexpectedly).

But he’s not alone. Dick Costigan, a good guy but terrible cop, helps put Clyde back in his place. Dick had always bent the rules a little when it came to enforcing the law and protecting those he loved. Maybe it has something to do with his missing sister, or maybe it’s the cruel treatment he endured at his father’s hands, or maybe the guilt he carries over his dead mother. Maybe it’s all of the above.

Which makes it a complicated blessing when he meets Mamie O’Connor, chorus girl and recently minted Sonder, who comes into the station to report the theft of her purse and pay. Scared to death of waking up in 1896 again, it’s the lack of sleep that causes her to overlook her assailant until it’s too late. Absolutely charmed, Dick takes the report then buys Mamie a chili dog, igniting a whirlwind romance. While Mamie’s absences have yet to be noticed, it’s only a matter of time, despite her best efforts to keep the secret on the advice of her sondering mentor, Frank.

There are two Sonders who seem to have no one to miss them, much to their glee and secret dismay. Maggie Murphy and the exploitatively handsome Gael Navarro are constantly plotting their next big job with their gang of orphans in Chicago—the two have a solid system, at least as far as Gael is concerned – one kind word from him, and Maggie is perfectly agreeable to whatever he has planned.

But while both Gael and Maggie are both Sonders, their trips to Paris don’t always line up nor do their interests there. Maggie lives and works in a baker's shop, working on her terrible French, while Gael sticks to what he knows best, pickpocketing and flattering bored women with loose purses.

There are those, however, who are unknowingly impacted by the Sonders around them. Esther Blum struggles with the responsibilities of her entire household and bookstore, including extortion at the hands of a local gang. With her mother missing after a long history of frequent absences (and an obsession with all things French), and her father nearly bed-bound by his grief, the Blum family is in shambles but Esther soldiers on, refusing to believe her mother is gone for good.

Meanwhile, in Paris, there is Celestine Donnadieu, who somehow has managed to know at least three different Sonders—Patrick Nolan, Frank Albright, and Mamie O’Connor. There is no telling how many she’s actually known over the years, and it’s unlikely she’ll ever notice anything peculiar as she focuses her attentions on her ongoing polite feud with Priscilla de Lyons. Their current object of contention? Why, none other than Frank Albright.

While many Sonders find themselves yearning for their own time, there are some, like Sophie Renard, who desperately want to stay in 1896 Paris. Her new life in the past is the one fantasy that Sophie didn’t have to make for herself and she thrives there, except for the stimulants she takes in a bid to stay awake. When she finds herself miserably back in Chicago, she vents her rage on anyone she can and turns to depressants to put her to sleep in effort to return.

These chemically induced ups and downs of her moods lead her to pick a fight with Juniper Nolan over their mutual friend, Wanda Chen. Wanda is less than pleased with the situation, obtaining a bloody nose in the process of attempting to reason with the overly-medicated woman.

Sophie feels out of control in Chicago—in 1936. She desperately wishes to be back in Paris, back with Auguste De La Croix. Auguste, who is always patiently awaiting Sophie's return. She flitters in and out of his life as she pleases and without explanation. He is fine with that, for their friendship does not require it. He is simply content when she is there, being his muse. He never worries; he has all the confidence she'll return. She always does.

Auguste is not the only one who waits for the Sonders.

Madame Gigi Badeaux has provided shelter for as many Sonders as she can collect, with Frank Albright as the recruiter and unofficial guide to new Sonders that pop-up. No one really understands why the Madame provides a refuge and protection to Sonders, but many suspect it has something to do with her missing son, Matthieu Badeaux, who may have been a Sonders himself, now stuck in Chicago 1936.

But how can John know anything going on in 1896 until he speaks to a Sonder himself? Maybe if he had moved sooner, the tragedy at the Decoration Day Fair would have never occurred. Now, Butch Masters, prominent donor to Chicago’s crime lab and secret donor to the TEETF, is dead—shot in cold blood by a known thug who vanishes into thin air just as the police are closing in.